


What Happens Then?

by lds



Category: Star Trek (2009)
Genre: Contains an inaccurate description of tribble reproduction, Humor, M/M, Main Event 2, Pre-Slash, Team Tartan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-03-18
Updated: 2011-03-18
Packaged: 2017-10-17 02:37:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/172025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lds/pseuds/lds
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Scotty was happily sailing through obliviousness when it came to his feelings until a trouble with a tribble, along with a few friends, altered his course.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What Happens Then?

**Author's Note:**

> Beta'd by rusty_armour. All remaining errors are definitely mine. About the only thing that is

If you were to ask him when it started, Montgomery Scott wouldn’t be able to tell you. What he does know, however, is when he realized it. It started after the _Enterprise_ entered what had to be the most boring patch of space in the known universe: a **large** claim to make, but Scotty was sure that it wasn’t just him who thought so. He would almost go as far as saying it was worse than being stationed on Delta Vega, except he could comfort himself with the fact that the _Enterprise_ would eventually move to a new quadrant of space and that block of ice was going nowhere fast. Given the doldrums of their current position, Scotty wasn’t all that surprised that he ended up getting into a little trouble. Or that he managed to injury himself while doing so. No, the surprise came as a result of him being himself.

A burn on the back of his right hand had Scotty sitting on a biobed watching intently as Doctor McCoy carefully examined the wound, his fingers dancing gently as he assessed the degree of damage. The Chief Engineer hadn’t expected to be in the sickbay long since a wound could usually be quickly repaired with a dermal regenerator. However, it would appear that the medical staff had their own ways in dealing with boredom.

Casting a sidelong glance at his patient, McCoy asked, “How did you say you did this again?”

Humming a little, Scotty gave a shrug and answered vaguely, “Was doing some tweaking on the impulse drive when it happened.”

McCoy turned to look at Scotty full on as he raised an eyebrow in a level of disbelief that showed in his tone as he spoke. “You’re saying that there is something -- _anything_ \-- connected to that drive that would leave a burn pattern like this.”

“Yes?” Scotty replied. He was going to have to review the number and nature of the treatments his staff was getting if McCoy could tell from just looking that he was possibly being less than honest.

Turning and giving some sort of signal to Christine Chapel, who had been leaning against a nearby biobed and observing the two since Scotty had arrived, McCoy said, “I’d try explaining what happened again.”

“I was working on the impulse drive.” Scotty stated defensively as he watched Christine walk over with the missing regenerator he had expected to be treated with by now. “I just got a little diverted from my task by Keenser’s pet tribble.”

“Keenser’s?” Christine questioned as she peered around McCoy’s shoulder to look at the burn. “I thought it was yours.”

“Your confusion is understandable,” McCoy conceded on Scotty’s behalf as he took the regenerator from her, “as the tribble lives in Scotty’s quarters.”

Christine gave a little chortle as she walked back to the same biobed she had been leaning on before and returned to the less than stressful task of observing Scotty with the doctor. As the only patient currently in sickbay, Scotty realized that pretty much all of the medical staff on duty appeared to be following the treatment. Maybe Engineering wasn’t as boring as he thought.

McCoy must have noticed him looking around as he provided an explanation. “They are simply waiting with bated breath to hear what happened. You’re the first patient in two days.”

Scotty chuckled as his envisioned what he was about to say. “It’s a wonder a fight didn’t break out over who treated me.”

“That couldn’t happen,” Christine smirked, prompting a few snickers around the room. “You’re on the list.”

Scotty twisted to look at the head nurse as his curiosity was piqued. “List?”

McCoy interrupted before Christine could answer. “Don’t listen to her. She has an over-active imagination. And I’m still waiting to hear exactly what happened.”

Scotty caught but didn’t quite get the look that Christine shot McCoy as she folded her arms over her chest. When she spoke, however, she didn’t elaborate on the list she had mentioned. “I’m hoping to hear why there was a tribble in engineering to start with.”

“And how the hell it caused a second degree burn,” the doctor added as he started to treat the burn itself with the dermal regenerator.

“The tribble was acting a wee bit off, so I took him with me,” Scotty started to explain.

A puzzled look skittered across McCoy’s face before one of slight amusement took its place. “How could you tell?”

“Don’t you be mocking me,” Scotty warned. “It just was. And then he got out and under…Well, I’d rather not say where he got to, just that it was hot and that it burnt when my hand scrapped along it. And the little bugger got back out himself, while I was cursing my luck. Just scurrying along like nothing had happened.”

McCoy’s shoulders started shaking but didn’t Scotty realize the man was laughing until he choked out, “Are sure it was a tribble? Maybe it never went under anything and you were heroically trying to save a dust bunny.”

“Oi! I’m not a dobber,” Scotty snorted indigently, fighting the urge to cross his arms over his chest since McCoy was still holding his burnt hand. Though it wasn’t so burnt anymore as the doctor was almost finished. “I know the difference between a tribble and a piece of fluff

McCoy shot him an odd look at that point, but Scotty never figured out what it meant. He was a little too distracted by the mirth dancing in the other man’s eyes and the flash of teeth as he bit down on his lower lip to keep himself from laughing more. The only thought the engineer had was that his friend looked dead gorgeous at that moment and he’d like to lean over and kiss the laugh out of him. This revelation was immediately followed by slight panic as Scotty wondered where the bloody hell that thought had come from as he turned as red as a beet.

* * *

Later that same day, Scotty found himself sitting in the mess having a snack but ignoring the reading he had brought along. Instead, he was once again fixated on Doctor McCoy, who was a few tables down talking to the Captain. Normally, he would have joined them, but he was still coming to terms with his earlier discovery, the same discovery he was using to justify his surreptitious observations. Also, he had made enough of an arse of himself in front of the man earlier today, as no doctor worth his weight in salt would fail to notice his patient turning all shades of red during a treatment. And McCoy was worth much more than that.

Scotty was so caught up in his scrutiny of the other table that he didn’t notice when he was joined at his own by two individuals, both of whom looked very amused by their friend. The engineer gave a little jump when one of the two finally spoke.

“I believe there is a human saying that would be appropriate here,” Gaila chuckled. “However, I simply cannot recall it.”

“You’re thinking of ‘Take a picture it lasts longer’,” her friend Nyota Uhura informed her.

Gaila gave a little nod and said, “You are the linguist.”

“And a human,” Nyota added as she and Gaila smiled brightly at the man now glaring openly at them, his arms crossed firmly over his chest.

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” Scotty demanded, though he had to acknowledge that, at some point, his viewing had stopped be sneaky and had moved more into the blatant range.

Nyota stabbed her salad with her fork and took a bite before answering the man. “I mean that if you keep up the level of staring you are currently subjecting Leonard to, even he is going to notice.”

Gaila smiled and expanded on the observation. “The only reason Captain Kirk hasn’t noticed is because he has his back is to you.”

Giving her fork a little wave for emphasis, Nyota said, “You do know he wouldn’t let that slide if he caught you.”

Scotty looked down at his mostly uneaten sandwich and sighed. He might as well come clean as these two had probably had him figured out well before he had himself. Acting a little more confident about the situation than he actually was, the engineer explained. “Look, I admit that I may find him a little more attractive than I generally find my doctors and was simply indulging in the view as it was likely to go unnoticed. No harm done.”

The two women sat still and watched Scotty intently, as though they were expecting him to say more. Scotty gave them a puzzled look in reply.

“Maybe you should try that ‘friends with benefits’ thing,” Gaila suggested after the silence dragged on for a while. Her hair flew carelessly around her as she turned to take in the other man under discussion. “I think it would be more pleasurable than simply enjoying the view.”

Nyota gave a little shake of her head, though the movement was wasted as her friend continued to look over at the other table. “I don’t think Leonard would go for it. I don’t think he’d be willing to lose a close friendship for a little fun.”

“Then do you think he’d give me a shot?” Gaila asked distractedly.

“Oi!” Scotty snapped, sitting up a little straighter in his chair. “Where’d that come from?”

Gaila snapped her head around to take in the less than happy expression on her boss’s and friend’s face. “I was thinking nice solid build, broad shoulders. It could make for some fun positions and locations for having sex.”

“Fuck me,” Scotty moaned as he rubbed his hand down his face. His imagination did not need any help from the Orion woman, not to mention that little surge of jealousy that coursed through him at the very idea. It had him wondering if maybe there might be a little bit more to this attraction than the simple physical side he had assumed it had. He leaned forward and laid his forehead on the table, groaning to himself about the continuing insight regarding what he thought was just a simple friendship.

Gaila pushed her untouched plate to one side and put her face on the table as well, trying to catch Scotty’s eye. “You okay there, Scotty?”

“I believe he’s just realized that maybe his interest goes a little deeper than he stated earlier,” Nyota explained as she continued to pick away at the food in front her.

“Oh,” Gaila giggled as she sat up again. “In that case, forget my idea. But you should try asking him out then. For some reason, you humans seem to find that an easier task.”

“Only when you have an inkling whether or not they are interested as well,” Scotty told the table, as he didn’t bother lifting his head again. He hoped that would end this line of conversation, and the two women would discuss someone else for a while.

“Are you two giving Commander Scott a hard time?” a voice asked from above.

Scotty tilted his head and squinted at the form of one Jim Kirk, whose attempt to sound stern was ruined by the amusement written across his face. And, standing next to him, was the man who was the source of Scotty’s mini-crisis. The situation was getting dangerous as Scotty couldn’t be sure that anyone sitting at the table wouldn’t spill the beans. With his luck, it would probably be him. Scotty wasn’t ready to deal with that fallout.

“He had a stressful day today,” Jim informed the ladies as he gave Scotty a comforting pat on the shoulder. “He was injured rescuing a tribble.”

“Keenser’s tribble,” Gaila confirmed. Taking in the confused faces of both Jim and Nyota, she elaborated. “Scotty was worried about it, so he brought it to engineering today.”

Kirk nodded in agreement as Nyota muttered that she thought the tribble was Scotty’s. He then turned and gave McCoy a little shove. “Bones, he’s worried about the little guy. You should check the tribble over for him.”

Glaring at his best friends, and ignoring Gaila’s quiet “Wait for it”, McCoy snapped, “I’m a doctor, not a veterinarian.” He did, however, pause long enough to glare at both women as they giggled over the statement. “If he’s truly concerned, he should go down to zoology. They have several fully qualified individuals who are more than capable of handling any concerns about the tribble’s health.”

Scotty, who just wanted to get away before he managed to say the wrong thing, grasped on to what McCoy suggested. Finally sitting back up in his chair, he declared, “That is a brilliant idea. I think I’ll run the tribble down there now.”

Popping up out of his seat before anyone had a chance to reply, Scotty left at a pace that fell just short of a jog. He wanted to be gone, but didn’t necessarily want his friends to know that. The last thing he heard as he reached the mess hall door was Gaila commenting on how he must really be concerned since he’d left his sandwich virtually uneaten.

* * *

As Scotty wasn’t sure exactly how to handle himself around his friend as he got used to these new feelings, he played coward and dodged the man for several days. This put him in a different type of awkward position as he needed McCoy to do him a favour and wasn’t sure how receptive the other man would be to the request. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to ask.

He rethought that idea once he walked into the sickbay and received a less than welcoming attitude from his friend. Scotty would have probably been better off if he had come in injured. However, he ploughed through his reservations and walked over to the biobed that McCoy had himself propped up on. Once there, Scotty dropped the carrier he had in his hands on the bed next to his friend.

Before Scotty got a chance to say anything, McCoy grunted, “What a surprise seeing you in here. Figured you’d need to be on your deathbed before showing up at sickbay.”

Scotty flinched at the sharpness of McCoy’s voice. So the man definitely had noticed that the engineer was avoiding him. Skipping over the small talk that would have had Scotty asking why McCoy was doing his work on a biobed instead of his office, Scotty jumped right into why he was there. “I know you suggested that I go to zoology, but they scared him, er, her, and I didn’t really want to take her back.”

McCoy raised an eyebrow at the change of gender as Scotty spoke. Once the engineer finished, the doctor sighed and slid off the bed. Opening up the carrier, the doctor saw two balls of fur instead of the usual one. He’d been worried that the poor little tribble had somehow gotten cut in half, except the smaller bit of fuzz was a different colour. He had to ask, “Did your tribble adopt a dust bunny? I don’t think I have enough training in psychology to help it if it has.”

“It’s another tribble. She had a wee bairn some time last night,” Scotty explained. “And given how long I… how long Keenser has had her, it seems really weird that she would reproduce now.”

McCoy reached into the carrier, gently picked up the smaller of the two tribbles, and took it out to inspect it. As he brushed his fingers across the soft fur, he muttered, “Maybe you got her wet.”

Scotty was too distracted watching McCoy handle the newest member of the _Enterprise_ family to actually hear what the man said, though he was aware that he had spoken. His response was a simple “What?”

McCoy set the little fellow down and gave a little wave of the hand to dismiss what he’d said earlier. Instead, he offered a couple more realistic explanations. “The tribble is probably self-impregnating or reproduces in a manner different than what you’re thinking.”

The doctor reached back into the carrier and got the original tribble, giving it the same attention he had given the newest one before placing her next to her baby. “I’ll run the tricorder over them, but, without a baseline, it’s going to be hard to tell if there’s anything wrong, unless it happens to be something that would show up on other mammals.”

Scotty was mesmerized by McCoy making soothing little cooing sounds as he held the medical tricorder over the larger tribble to keep the little creature from being startled by the apparatus. The engineer gave a little internal sigh and couldn’t help but think how easy it was to love a guy who was such a softie underneath that gruff persona he showed the world.

A heartbeat later, Scotty tensed up as he realized what it was he’d just thought and started to back away from the biobed. He saw the flash of hurt that crossed McCoy’s face as he looked up at Scotty backing away, as if, somehow, the man knew that the sudden change in the engineer had something to do with him. This didn’t keep Scotty from trying to cover up his latest panic by offering a lame excuse.

“I just remembered I was supposed to meet…” Scotty’s mind blanked on any name, deserting him when he needed it most. “Ah, some guy back in engineering.” On that note, he bolted from the sickbay.

* * *

Sitting in his office, Scotty was beating himself up over his behaviour. Combing his fingers over his hair, Scotty had to wonder how the hell he managed to miss the fact that he was falling in love in the first place. As he contemplated how exactly he had ended up in this situation, Scotty’s office door slid open and the Captain walked in carrying the tribbles. He supposed he shouldn’t be surprised that Kirk was acting as a courier for McCoy because that’s what friends did. And, unlike Scotty at the moment, Jim was being a good friend.

“I was asked to bring you your tribbles,” Kirk explained as he laid the carrier on Scotty’s desk. “And to tell you that you’re an idiot. The second message comes from Christine. I didn’t ask why she thinks that, though.”

“Probably because I am,” Scotty sighed.

“Yeah, you probably are being one at the moment,” the Captain agreed. “You might want to do a little damage control because Bones, he’s very good at coming up with very negative reasons for odd behaviour. You might find yourself short a friend soon.”

Without elaborating any further, Kirk turned and left. Scotty sat there for a long while considering exactly how to go about following the Captain’s advice before grabbing the carrier and departing his office with a determined look on his face.

* * *

A short while later, Scotty stood outside McCoy’s quarters, staring at the door. He had a bottle of scotch tucked under his arm and reached out to buzz a few times, only to change his mind before finally letting the man inside know he was there.

When the doctor opened the door, he didn’t look very pleased to see him, but Scotty offered the man a weak smile and said, “I was wondering if we could have a little talk.”

McCoy stared at Scotty blankly for a moment, before standing aside and giving a small jerk of the head to invite the older man in. He didn’t offer anything in way of a greeting, and Scotty had to admit that a quiet McCoy was very unnerving.

Holding up the bottle, the engineer stated, “I brought a little something in way of a peace offering. And I do owe you an apology.”

The doctor grabbed a couple of glasses and dropped them on the small table. Slouching in one of the chairs, stretching his legs out in front of him, McCoy then gestured for Scotty to take a seat across from him.

The engineer swallowed rapidly as he tried to figure out how to start what he needed to say. The silence was weighing heavily as he poured the scotch, so he had to say something. “I know I’ve been acting a little strange the last little while. The problem is me and I’m sorry if it caused you any pain.”

“Usually, I only hear the ‘It’s me’ speech when someone is breaking up with me,” McCoy muttered.

Scotty gave a derisive laugh at that comment. He took a gulp of the scotch he had just poured, hoping some Dutch courage would help him say what he needed to say. As Scotty worked out the words to use, he watched McCoy slowly moving his glass around in a circular motion but not indulging. McCoy was watching his own movements as well, not looking at Scotty at all.

Taking a deep breath, Scotty dived in with the intention to tell the other man the truth, talking rapidly, as though that would ensure he would get it all out. “Well, I’m not breaking up with you. Despite what you might be feeling based on my behaviour of late, I really don’t want to lose you as a friend. That’s part of the problem, actually. I realized that I might be in love with you and that’s an issue I have to deal with. I’ll get past it -- hopefully without causing too many more awkward moments.”

McCoy interrupted him by asking softly, “What if I don’t want you to?”

Gaping at the man sitting across from him, Scotty sputtered, “What?” It never actually occurred to him that anything could come of what he was feeling, and the idea being put forward now was disconcerting to say the least.

McCoy finally looked up at Scotty and asked again. “What if I don’t want you to? What happens then?”

“Then…” Scotty paused for a moment before stating the most obvious of answers, though it sounded more like a question coming out of his mouth. “Then we start dating? There’s a movie night coming up, if you’d like to do that.”

McCoy had started smirking as Scotty was answering. “I guess now is a good time to let you know that I don’t put out on the first date.”

“Not at all?” Scotty joked. “Not even a kiss?” A sense of relief was filling him. He should have just talked to the man in the first place.

Taking a sip of his scotch, McCoy gave a shy smile and replied, “That would depend on how the date goes.”


End file.
